B.C. Bound

I can't believe it's here already! In not much more than 24 hours I will be leaving my home for 10 days to head off to B.C. Time has flown by this summer, so much so that it kind of frightens me. I feel like there's still so much to do before September comes. I'm enjoying living each moment as it comes, and I still have lots of support raising to do in order to make it to Guelph.

For now, it's B.C. Bound for me, and I'm really looking forward to a time of fellowship and refreshment. Today shall be busy as I have lots to organize before I depart, but it will be good. Look out B.C., here I come! I'll be back on the 4th of August, but technically the fifth since I won't get home until well after midnight... so don't wait up.

More than a thousand words...

Think Tank

Lately due to a lack of continual contact with people I’m close to, I find that I’m having a lot of time to think.

Thinking can be dangerous.

Overall it has been pretty funny, the most random thoughts cross my mind.

Oh and my dad bought a toaster that cooks hotdogs and toasts the buns in specially designed slots. Yes, that’s right, a hotdog toaster. It doesn’t even fit normal bread.

Life is funny.

Death Chronicles Part II

Ever had a moment where your life flashes before your eyes? That moment definitely occurred for me last summer while making a routine walk to the Customs’ building from my office.

After experiencing problems with the power lines, and having had our power out for more than an hour, we were in a rush to get paperwork processed. So as soon as possible I made the 1min jaunt over to Customs to drop things off in hopes of getting it through before our clients had to cross the boarder. Little did I know that the fallen power lines behind our office had not been fixed properly.

I was walking through the back parking lot that takes me to the door of the building I worked in when I heard a fairly alarming sound. If I could demonstrate on here, I probably would, but alas, I’m just not that creative with the English alphabet. Basically it was like a crackling and exploding noise, and when I looked above me to see where it was coming from, I saw a flaming power line falling down toward my head.

In that brief moment, I honestly thought I was a goner. I did value my life, so I decided I would make an attempt to save it by running. It was fairly shocking to realize I was still alive when I made it to the door of my office and heard my manager yelling about “them almost killing Jennifer.”

Needless to say, I’m a little wary of power lines- though really, what are the chances of having lightening strike twice?

Death Chronicles Part I

I’ve had a number of people mention to me that they think I manage to have a fair number of near death misses for a young white girl coming from a small city. We’ll see how long this lasts, but after my brother nearly killed me, him, and our brother John with a gas leak today, I decided that it might be funny to record a few of my “experiences.”

Yes, that’s right. My brother left the gas on our gas stove on, but without ever lighting the stove. So basically we had tons of natural gas pouring into our house, to the point where the smell drifted to my dear room at the other end of the house. I bolted out of there fearing a gas leak (though surprised the smell was that strong), and my brother was standing sheepishly by the stove. Thankfully he had eventually realized that his pot of water was no where near boiling and shut things down with the common sense not to try to light the stove now that we had a house full of gas.

The smell is still strong, but as long as no one tries to light a candle, or make a sudden movement that would cause sparks, I think we’ll live. We’re currently airing out the house even though this probably happened close to an hour ago. It’s fun to be a McMullan.

Beauty in Brokenness

One of my favourite analogies to recall while I’m dealing with tough situations is that of a glow stick in place of a person. I heard a sermon once on “Glow Stick Theology,” and it has stuck with me, often prompting me to carry a glow stick with me as a reminder of things to come. The premise is that you have to be broken in order to shine, just like you break open the capsules in a glow stick so that they glow.

Lately I’ve definitely felt God leading me through situations that are causing me to remember periods of brokenness, or to be broken in new ways. The exciting part is that I can see the beauty in these situations while in them, instead of looking back on them later. It is great to let God reach me where I’m at, and use each situation as a learning experience that has the potential to make me shine all that brighter.

Through the ups and the downs of the last little bit, God is revealing more of Himself to me. He is teaching me what faith really is. He is showing me how to truly trust Him alone. He is telling me that my self worth comes from Him, not how well I perform, and not what other people say about me. He is helping me understand that though I may be lonely, I am never truly alone.

Last night our sermon at church was on 2 Corinthians 4, and I loved the perspective it gave me. God has given us the treasure of the Gospel to store in us, and likens us to simple jars of clay. We don’t need to be flashy pieces of gold, because through me being a jar of clay it is clear that the all surpassing power inside me is coming from God, and not from myself! It is not about what I do, but about how I follow Him.

Let Your light shine.

Burdens

I’m in a weird mood.

I feel a deep seated sadness for students at Guelph.

I feel burdened because I want to get there so badly.

I’m overjoyed because of my amazing God.

I’m grieving over lost relationships.

This was intended to be a thoughtful blog, but I’m realizing I just don’t have the words.

Oh lyrics.

“Falling down on my knees, looking for sympathy…. Caught in between all I wish for and all I need.”

Happy 4th of July!

I Don't Want to Wait!

I love song lyrics, as many a former roommate of mine can attest to, I become fairly obsessive over the ones that really speak to me (Ibs you know you loved hearing the same song being played 50 times in a row)!

Lately I’ve been hearing the former Dawson’s Creek song being played everywhere (haha, especially now that I found a Paula Cole CD at Goodwill). Now, I’m pretty sure my boy will know his father, but the idea of not wanting to wait for life to be over has been getting me thinking a lot.

I’m not a very patient person. I want to know where my life has headed, if I’ll ever get married, if I’ll ever make it to Africa etc. etc. Right now I’ve just been wanting to get to Guelph, and not wanting to wait to get there. It is such a transition time for me, being at home physically, but my heart isn’t really here because I know it is temporary. I finally settled into my room this week though, which has helped.

As I worked through my impatience with wanting to get started on the next chapter of my life, I realized that by not wanting to wait I’m actually missing out on an important process. I’m going to end up skipping a whole chapter by trying to skip ahead. If you skip a chapter in a novel, you often end up missing out on details that the author wanted you to know in order to figure things out, or better understand. The Author of my life has a plan that includes this support raising time period in my life.

This week has been incredible; I’ve been learning so much that I don’t even know where to begin! And though I don’t want to wait for my life to be over, I realize that this too is life and that there’s lots I can learn and have fun with if I focus on the moment.

P.S. Happy Canada Day!